One With the Birds
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: Origin story of Gym Leader Winona, her Skarmory and Shiny Swellow, and her affinity for Flying Pokémon.


**_One With the Birds_**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokémon or its characters, at all. Seriously.

* * *

 _"I am Winona, Leader of the Fortree City Gym. I have become one with Bird Pokémon and have soared the skies... However grueling the battle, we have triumphed with grace... Witness the elegant choreography of Bird Pokémon and I!"_ \- Winona's opening quote from the games

It was her destiny to join with the Flying-type Pokémon.

Winona, the Fortree City Gym Leader, was one of the greatest Flying Pokémon Trainers of her time. It was what she specialized in, because she loved winged creatures, and birds most of all. She had numerous Bird Pokémon and had trained them to be among the best, although this didn't just please her for her own sake. It also satisfied her when a Trainer defeated her Pokémon in a Gym Battle. Her favorite of her Bird Pokémon was her Shiny Swellow, and it had made her proud. It was an elite with Aerial Ace, and its different colors made it stand out as a rare Pokémon.

But it wasn't just its unique plumage that made her Swellow great. And to learn about that, we have to go back a long ways, when Winona was a girl, and before she became a Trainer…

* * *

 _Winona originally lived in the Hoenn region, where she was born. She was always one to "bathe" in the sun's rays, loving the feel of its warmth and its natural light, and she always wondered what sorts of things hung out in the clouds, too. Winona watched the Pidgeot and Fearow birds soar through the skies, and thought about what it was like to fly like one of them. Even flightless birds like Dodrio and Delibird caught her attention, because they had evolved from Bird Pokémon in ancient times that were once able to fly, but no longer felt the need to do so. Her head and her eyes were always in the air._

 _She didn't know exactly why Flying Bird Pokémon enthralled her so much, but she hoped to learn why some time._

 _One day, Winona was out taking a walk with her mother when she was eight years old. The day was a gloomy one, and while there were no signs of rain at the moment, her mother was considering going back home indoors._

 _"I don't like the looks of that sky, Winona," said her mother. "I think we'd better go home."_

 _"Aw, but mom," said Winona, "I haven't seen one Flying Pokémon all day! Can't we just stay out a little bit longer? There's gotta be a Pidgey or a Spearow around here, at least."_

 _"No, dear," said mom, "A storm is not a good time to go looking for Pokémon of almost any kind. Besides, Zapdos could be causing these gray clouds, and the Legendaries aren't to be trifled with."_

 _"But Zapdos is a Flying Pokémon," argued Winona, "And I think it'd be amazing to see it in the heavens."_

 _"No, Winona," said mom more firmly, "I won't risk you getting hurt in any storm, with or without Zapdos. Now let's go home."_

 _"But mommy-" Winona pleaded._

 _"No!" mother said sternly, "I said no! I can't let anything happen to you, and I'm not going to. Let's go!"_

 _Just then, Winona's mother's cell phone rang. She got ready to answer it. "You stay right there, young lady," she cautioned Winona._

 _"It's daddy!" she said aloud. She talked to her husband for a couple of minutes, and then said goodbye._

 _"Daddy's going to be a little late coming home tonight," she said to Winona, turning back to her daughter, "I think we'll have some leftover stew for dinner tonight. What do you think, Winona-?"_

 _Winona had left her side, and was nowhere to be seen._

 _"Winona?" she asked the forest around them. "Winona! Where did you go?" She started to panic as she could find no traces of her little girl anywhere in the vicinity._

 _"By Arceus!" she swore. "I have to call the police! Winona?!" She dialed the emergency line on her phone._

* * *

 _Winona had been so desperate to discover a new Flying Pokémon. After her mother was distracted, she snuck away. She didn't mean to disobey her mother, but the pull of the forest and the sky was just too great. Besides, she reasoned (incorrectly) that she could find her way back to her mother, maybe with the help of a good luck Pokémon, or better yet, a Flying type with excellent vision._

 _But there was another reason why she was wandering away from her mother and civilization. Winona thought she had heard a call from out of the forest, like some kind of Psychic-type Pokémon wanted to talk to her. She wanted to find this mysterious caller, because she wondered if it had something to tell her. Psychic types usually spoke to one individual at a time, rather than a whole collective of people. And she believed in the idea that everything happens for a reason._

 _After about five minutes of wandering, she came into a grassy clearing and found a Xatu. She couldn't help but beam at the thought of being called by a Psychic type which also was a Flying Pokémon. "My luck today is double, I think!" she thought. The Xatu suddenly looked straight at her, and then pointed with its right wing towards a path in the forest. It seemed to be telling her to go that way for some reason. She nodded understandingly, and walked down the path for another ten minutes. Eventually, she came to another clearing. But here, there was not a Flying type waiting for her. Instead, there was a mad-looking Primeape standing there, looking to pick a fight. And as soon as it saw Winona, it didn't care that she was small and weak. It proceeded to attack._

 _Terrified, Winona screamed out loud, calling for help, even though she knew that nobody would hear her out there. The Primeape leapt on her and tackled her to the ground. It was about to throw its first brutal punch when something unexpected happened. And it wasn't the Xatu which came to her rescue._

 _A small, swallow-like Pokémon with green, white and orange plumage dove out of the sky and pecked the head of the Primeape hard. The fast-fisted primate clutched its head in pain and attempted to swipe at the bird, knocking it off course. Then, apparently uninterested in fighting the little thing, it tried to attack Winona again. She squeezed her eyes shut and flinched. The Primeape hit her on her nose, and she screamed in pain. A tiny amount of blood ran from her nose._

 _But this seemed to outrage the Bird Pokémon, and it dove at the Primeape again, and this time, it did an impressive Aerial Ace attack, or at least that was what it looked like. The Primeape was smashed flat on the ground, and the Pokémon landed on its chest and growled at it. Having had enough, and knowing that Fighting types are less than a match for Flying types, the Primeape got up, brushing off the bird again, and ran off into the depths of the forest, snarling all the way._

 _Winona nursed her hurt nose as best she could, and the tiny Pokémon landed next to her and said, "Taillow! Tail, Tail, Taillow!"_

 _She looked at her rescuer. It was a Taillow, a Tiny Swallow Pokémon known for being fearless around any opponent and being unusually resistant to Electric attacks for a Flying type. But it looked a little different from the average Taillow. Taillow were normally dark blue, red, and white, but as stated already, this one was green, orange, and white. It looked so remarkable, such a tiny thing, daring to take on something ten times its size so bravely, and it's colors were so unique and pretty._

 _Winona had no doubt she had found a very rare Pokémon, a Shiny Pokémon._

 _"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Taillow!" she gushed, hugging the little bird. "I don't know what I would've done without you!"_

 _She got up and said to it, "Say, what are you doing here, little Taillow? And why are your colors different? I thought Shiny Pokémon were a myth."_

 _The Taillow said, "Taillow! Taillow!" and flew right next to her. It nuzzled her nose gently, evidently feeling sorry for her hurt._

 _"It's okay," Winona said, "It's not that bad, and the doctor can always fix me up."_

 _Then the Taillow suddenly flew up into the air and disappeared. Winona looked around in surprise._

 _"Where are you, Taillow? Did I say something wrong?" she shouted._

 _But she didn't have long to wait for it to return. In a few minutes, before trouble could return, the Taillow returned, and it had a friend with it. A Skarmory flew down gracefully and settled beside her._

 _"Oh. Hi, Skarmory," said Winona, "Are you and Taillow good friends?"_

 _The Skarmory seemed to want something from her, and Taillow seemed to agree. Skarmory spread its wings and appeared to be gesturing at its own back._

 _"Huh?" she said. Oh! You want me to ride you?"_

 _"Skarmory!" said the Steel/Flying type, as if concurring._

 _"Oh. Okay!" Winona replied, getting on. "Where are we going?"_

 _Skarmory and Taillow didn't answer, but instead Skarmory lifted off with Winona on its back, and took her for a ride over the world. Taillow followed._

 _Winona soon saw the many cities, landmarks, and natural forests and islands of the Hoenn region, not all at once, of course. She flew over Mauville City and got a good look at its technological achievements. She soared over Lavaridge Town and got a good look at the hot springs. She levitated at a high altitude over Petalburg City and got an astounding view of the ocean._

 _But the highlight came when they flew over Fortree City, her own home town. Her Skarmory's sword-like wings sliced through the air, and as it did, the sound of its wind seemed to attract more Bird Pokémon. Several other Skarmory joined her ride, and many normal-colored Taillow joined them in a flock, too. About a hundred Pidgey, twenty Pidgeotto, and five Pidgeot came along for the ride. Even a flock of contentious Spearow, led by a Fearow, joined the aerial procession._

 _There was something majestic flying in the air with the birds. Winona didn't know what it was, but she was convinced that soaring the skies was a spiritual experience; the birds could fly above all the problems of the ground and soar to new heights, feeling like they were at the top of the world. Anything that could take a leap and fly was bound for a better future._

 _It was an exceptionally wonderful experience for her. She started to realize, in part, at least, why she loved Flying Pokémon so much. She cheered, spread her arms out like wings, and shouted, "I'm the queen of the world!"_

 _And then, her Taillow friend did something else remarkable._

 _It evolved, right there in the sky, into Swellow, its stronger form. Winona was dazzled, and cheered again. It flew adjacent to her and said, "Swellow!" as if it was saying it was all hers._

 _Taking this as a sign, Winona asked, "Hey, Swellow, Skarmory! How'd you like to come home with me? I'll take really good care of you, and I'm sure mom and dad will help, too."_

 _"Swellow!"_

 _"Skarmory!"_

 _"All right!" she said. "Let's go home! Uh oh," she said all of a sudden, "Mom must be really worried about me! I've been away for so long! Take me down for a moment, guys."_

 _They settled to the ground, and found themselves right in front of Officer Jenny._

 _"Winona?" she asked. Winona nodded. "Where have you been? Your parents have been worried sick about you! And what's that? Looks like something hit you in the nose! Come on, I'm taking you home right now!"_

 _"It's all right," said Winona, "I'm fine, officer. In fact, I've got a couple of new friends to-"_

 _"Save it for your parents," said Jenny brusquely, "assuming they're willing to listen. My only concern is to get you home safe and sound."_

 _"Okay," said Winona nervously, "But can my friends come along, please?"_

 _"If they behave themselves, then yes," said Jenny impatiently. "Now let's go!"_

* * *

 _At home, Winona's mother was very upset to hear that her daughter had left her side deliberately. She slapped her once, shaming Winona a little, but her dad convinced mom to let her explain what had happened._

 _Winona explained everything that had happened, from the encounter with a wild Xatu to the flight in the sky with many Flying Pokémon. Then she told her parents that she was convinced that she wanted to become the next great Flying Pokémon Trainer._

 _"It's my dream, mom and dad," she said. "I swear, I'll take good care of my Pokémon, and I'll train them to be the best! I might even become a Gym Leader someday. Please tell me you'll support me in this goal!"_

 _Mom and dad thought about it for a moment, and finally decided to humor her, knowing from experience how much Winona loved Flying Pokémon, and they also allowed her to keep her Skarmory and her Shiny Swellow as her first two Pokémon, but on the condition that she should never go wandering off on her own without parental permission until she was old enough to get her Pokémon License._

 _"Sure thing, mom and dad!" she promised. "Thank you so much! Hear that, Swellow? We're gonna be the best someday, and we're gonna prove it to the other Trainers!"_

 _"Swellow!"_

 _"Skarmory!" Skarmory agreed._

* * *

Over the years, as she got her License and began to train Flying Pokémon, Winona received much counseling and encouragement from Falkner, the Flying Pokémon Trainer from Violet City Gym in Johto, who also loved Bird Pokémon. He helped her understand how to use her Pokémon properly in battle and where and when to know to use each one. She lost several Gym Battles to Falkner before she finally prevailed, and it took a lot of practice to make her Flying Pokémon match up to other Trainers and Gym Leaders, too, but she kept at it, until, at last, she was virtually Falkner's equal in Bird Training.

And now, as she contemplated this on the mountain which was her aerial Gym, with her Shiny Swellow on her shoulder and her Skarmory, Pelipper, Altaria, and others gathered around her, she looked off into the landscape below her and chanted her mantra:

"I have become one with Bird Pokémon and have soared the skies…"

* * *

 **A/N:** Winona is one of my favorite Gym Leaders in the Pokémon phenomenon, partly because of her affinity for Flying Pokémon, especially birds, and the sky. I like birds, too, and her quotes from Gym Battles in both the games and anime imply that her fascination with the birds in the sky was spiritual.


End file.
